I just had the pleasure of flying with this pilot (Kirk Wicker) the other day. Not only is he an incredible pilot, but he's incredibly generous and friendly to boot! A fabulous instructor!
@@Justwantahover when the nose was down, he was probably at a high power setting, the propeller most exceeded its limits of rotations per minute. This is why there is an accessory gear box on turbo prop engines because the output is so high it could exceed the limits of of what the propeller can handle. So there is a gear box that allows only a certain amount of power to go through so that won’t happen.
Pilot is a total badass.. No panic.. Makes a hard turn to help slow the plane without stalling it.. lines up on the runway and lands it like a champ!!!
How does making a hard turn prevent the plane from stalling or gaining airspeed? A hard turn will increase the risk of stalling (as far as I know and experienced). Props to the pilot though.
@@trainernass5884 if he didn't do that hard turn he likely would of snapped the gear on landing...kudos to the pilot, change of undies is waiting in the locker room
Absolutely stunning airmanship. Get out of the spin, get airspeed, figure out where you are, establish the abbreviated landing pattern, keep all the turns coordinated, get that nose down, manage the energy, don't roll out too early, land on the upwind main, let the speed bleed instead of fighting it. You can see every step, executed with crisp precision.
+Dental Estes Also cope with a plane that's become tail heavy and less stable. Obviously knew what he was doing. The engine seemed to stop abruptly. I wonder if the engine failed catastrophically and caused the prop bolts to shear.
Yeah seemed like amazing reaction time to line up with so little altitude. But as acrobat has to be aware of orientation/position/altitude at all times anyway, already flying 'very intensely'. And he showed he was doing that right. Seems impressive, and is, but consider everything he is already doing is equally impressive and intense also. I don't think he had time to 'think' and panic is not in vocab of an acrobat. Missing prop 'instantly' told him he was landing. Happened so fast spin into landing was all one thing. I don't think missing prop affected CG much though, not like engine fell off (decreased drag just a bit too lol). And that airframe has a wide cg range. Yeah I wonder too about prop..hard fast lock of engine caused prop/bolts to break?
Usually you say goodbye to your prop if the engine break and stop breaking the bolts or bolts is not well checked. He has to stop the engine and glide to runway in a perfect maneuvering but he is responsible of bad manteinance of the plane.
Not necessarily, Club of Amigos en Ruta. Maintenance is the responsibility of the owner/operator. If he is just piloting and doesn't own it it's not his fault. If he is the owner, then there is a possibility it's not his fault. No need to start pointing fingers when the only information you have is this video.
The recovery was just as interesting as his flight prior... Thanks for including the minutes prior, especially showing the initial separation. His planning and execution were excellent, as was his immediate switch to landing dead-stick.
I was at that airshow. My brother and I provided the sound system. Pilot said the prop was installed only 10 flight hours before the separation. Prop was located in the woods on opposite side of the runway from the crowd. I do not recall reason for separation. I was holding the show center walkie talkie. After prop separation, what is not heard on the video was the pilot radioed air show center and said "have the people watch this". The announcer relayed it to the audience. Pilot was referring to his graceful landing I guess. That same pilot went up later that same day in another plane his wife normally flew to do another aerobatic routine. Nerves of steel!!!! That tall person in light colored clothes going up to greet the pilot after he stopped rolling is the legend himself, Bob Hoover.
I saw Bob Hoover fly several times at air shows near Nashville Tn. great pilot. who was the pilot that lost the prop? He landed like an expert sailplane pilot - I went for my fist sailplane ride last week near Nashville. We did not have to worry about our engine quitting or the prop coming off.... we did have to have a very good first try at landing :-)
Just to add to this pilot's cool legacy, an hour or so later he went up with his wife's plane to fulfill his contract with the promoter. It was a similar aircraft.
@@bradleyvantassal8328 I was at this airshow, saw it happen, and am familiar with the area. There is a park beyond the trees on the other side of the runway, and the prop fell in those trees. It was a weird thing to see because, due to the distance, I saw the prop separate, but there was still engine noise for a little bit. The airport is College Park Airport in College Park, MD, and the pilot was Kirk Wicker.
A great job. His air show routine is stunning. Very precise. No drama, just wonderful. I’m not shocked he was so successful here. But very pleased non the less. A true class act.
What a great pilot!!! Talk about some “Kahunas!” He or she handled that like it was nothing but thing! I love the happy story ending ones. Great clip. Included the great flying before hand and the great save.
+TJP77 unless… well, he does his own maintenance. A similar plane lost its prop over Madison, CT in 2005 or so, plane was in level flight at 5000’ or so. The plane crash-landed immediately (both aboard killed) and prop was found 4 miles north of where it was thought to have separated from the aircraft. Plane was going for the only field around to land, and with another 30’ of altitude, would have made it. Hit a tree and then a house, prop landed in a driveway in Killingworth, CT. I was in a canoe right between plane and prop (but I heard neither)
“Come on love we’ll just have a picnic in this quiet field, we can watch the air show without paying to get in” “I’m sure we’ll be much closer to the action”
6:59 "Hoover couldn't have done that better if he had all day to practice it!" As mentioned in the comments below, that is Bob Hoover in the light jacket and hat walking up to the a/c at the end. Hoover was a legendary pilot, and WW2 veteran. In fact, after having been shot down in a Spitfire, he escaped the stalag, stole a Fw190 and flew it to freedom.
There are still some people that have not seen Bob Hoover's performances with his Aero Commander. If you are one of these people, consider watching a few of Bob's air show performances. His flight skills are remarkable.
If that was Hoover he would have done a few loops and aileron rolls, then landed and taxied the plane onto the ramp and into his parking spot. That was part of his no engine performance with the Commander. Seriously though, the pilot did a great job. 👍🏻
@@TheAirplaneDriver Hoover could pour you a glass of iced tea with his right hand, while doing a barrel roll with his left hand, and not spill any. Seems like its on RU-vid.
Nice save!! This reminds me of the time I️ had a main wheel fall off mid flight (tail dragger). I️ made a perfect one wheel landing and bled as much speed off until I️ had to set it down on the leg with no wheel. Did half a ground loop before stopping. It was an RC airplane of course but still reminded me of it...
What an outstanding display or airman-ship. Cool under extreme stress and pressure and brought her down to a safe (perfect) landing, beautifully. Amazing skill... Wow !!!
Nice show. Beautiful stall turns. After the prop was gone he came down in a hurry. I was a bit worried for a while that he did not manage to bleed off enough energy before landing
I'm in awe of any pilot who does flat spins on purpose, and then to have the propeller fly off while doing one and landing with even scratching the paint , the pilot us an extreme badass. Respect!
Never know what happened or if it even is a mechanic's fault. A fried told me about one of the early generation Hondas snapping a crank right at the damper pulley. Engine started up and ran fine. Problem was that all the accessories and belts were just sitting there dead still lol.
Dave Stutesman, good one! I wouldn't be overly surprised to learn that said mechanic had been spotted crawling off towards those woods to hide out until nightfall! 😁
@@OlJarhead Yeah, could have over-stressed the prop and snapped the prop-shaft, though it's highly coincidental it happened just 10 flight hours after the prop was installed (going off of another comment who said they were there).
Any landing you can walk away few, is a good landing. But he kept cool and came in perfectly.... There are old bold pilot's but there are no bold old pilot's! Blew that one out of the water too. I'm ex RAF. Astounding control and flying Sir.... It's not even 10am in England and you've made my day....
Excellent flying and excellent video work. It's hard to keep the plane in the frame while it's doing aerobatics. Then the pilot was outstanding with the plane and kept major cool after the prop came off. He landed and even coasted off the runway. Not enough credit can be given to the pilot or the video person.
Not just very quick decision, but mostly a GOOD one when something goes wrong and applied correct imputs! Cause I've personally seen many going wild in panic, pulling the stick and making the wings pass critical angle of attack and stalling, then spiraling all the way into the ground. This guy truly deserves to be called a pilot! Cheers man!
beeroosterm What do you mean by that? Did I mention any of what you say or you must be confusing me? Amateurs are those who get a stall (which has nothing to do with speed as only dummies think) and don't know how to recover or loose their mind when encountering a difficult situation and die in panic. Please let me know what you meant anyway! Thx!
beeroosterm No, the loops, rolls, stalls hammerheads and other manoeuvres were not the mark of an amateur for this guy! You can look the best in your stunts and manoeuvres, but if something goes wrong and you don't know what to do, you do become an amateur!
Maverick Su-35S I think you sent a wonderful compliment to the pilot. We need more people like you in this world. "Easy it is to tear down. Hard it is to build up" -Yoda
I wonder if the weight of this guys MASSIVE BALLS affects his plane's capabilities. I pride myself in landing my RC planes when shit goes wrong and you lose power or a control surface malfunctions, and they are only toys. This guy... this guy right here not only has balls of steel, he has the skills to match. Couldn't have been a more perfect landing for the inherently dangerous situation he was in. Absolutely top-notch pilot who knows his plane's capabilities extremely well. I tip my hat to you, good sir.
ThrottleWFO I agree he is an amazing pilot but what other option did he have. I mean would someone who doesn't have " balls of steel" have been like " well I guess I just nose dive into the ground instead of try to save it"?
Many people have been killed because they choked instead of pushing through the fear and perfectly executing a landing like this guy did. Happens all the time in all sorts of different fields and scenarios.
There are fantastic stresses imposed in those maneuvers on something that weighs as much as a prop turning close to 3000 RPM. He did a great job of flying the airplane after something like that. Jim Foreman CFI-A&G
Pilot did a great job maintaining control of the plane (and himself) and setting her down - not to mention some fantastic flying for the show. Bravo! - no encore necessary.
wow ! i fly rc and let me tell you i do not think i would have that much presence of mind if a prop flew off of one of my rc planes in the middle of a maneuver ! Great skill and i really enjoyed the WHOLE video , thank you !
Him being a professional stunt pilot, radioing back saying to tell the crowd to watch this after the prop fell off, and going back up an hour later, I doubt it fazed him much.
if you look closely in the spin, you'll see that it's a spin to the left, and at first he's holding hard left rudder, which keeps the spin going (to counter a spin, hold full opposite rudder). eventually (after the prop flies off) you see the rudder change to the right, which got him out of the spin. this is MUCH easier said than done, especially when you're in the air, disoriented, and freaking out. great recovery and an amazing landing.
yup, you're probably right ... wonder what his reaction was as that propeller ripped off & flew away. he must have nerves of steel to have made that recovery and landing.
Dudeman9339 Can you please explain us why would such thing be true? Do you believe that if he was higher (before beginning the stall attempt) and the prop would've came off, it would've been worse? Even at 5:38 when he begun climbing if the prop would've come off, it would've been an impossible situation as he had enough speed to convert into altitude or a good landing pattern. People..., think twice before you write something!
Dudeman9339 You don't know what you are talking about indeed:P! Look man, if you ain't a pilot or haven't flown an aircraft in a simulator, don't talk anymore, please..., for the sake of your mind and other around! Even if he would've lost the engine that way just before reaching a vertical position, he didn't need to do a tailslide (obviously you don't know how it's called) to recover it (and use the gained altitude to his advantage). Speed doesn't drop in an instant if you loose the engine! You want me to calculate how long it would've taken him to stop in midair with his nose pointed vertically if he wouldn't react, from the moment the prop went off? I'll calculate it and prove to you he had enough time to push the stick before the airspeed would've dropped in the first place. Secondly, even if in a near vertical tailslide (assuming the pilot won't react before the speed drops), these light airplanes won't loose more than 20 meters from their initial height before coming to a new normal flight with the same speed that it had before starting the climb if the pilot implies correct inputs. Let me give an example: Let's say this type of aircraft (very low wing loading) has no engine (ripped off like here) and starts pulling into the vertical from 1000m height and 200km/h from horizontal flight. Let's assume that throughout the pull from horizontal to vertical, the plane drops from 200 to 150km/h, so the speed drop countdown starts from 150km/h towards 0km/h, before a tailslide starts to occur. From 150 to 0km/h, the pilot has exactly 4.25 seconds (4 seconds) to push/pull the stick or slam his foot on a pedal, so don't tell me that he can't do anything...! But let's say he's not reacting at all and keeps holding it vertical until a tailslide starts. Now..., the tailslide can't hold forever, and even with inputs held at neutral, in no more than a second (4.9 meters dropped) the plane would start to pitch, roll and yaw, so it would start dropping the nose whatever you'd try afterwards..., in just 5..10 meters until the nose drops to about 90 deg, so there's no "slid backwards a LONG distance crashing him into the ground" as you've said. From here the pilot can pull at maximum lift (not past critical AoA) to fly horizontally again. So it's maximum 10 meters for nose up to nose down height loss +20 meters that are lost anyway during any slide = 30 meters (almost a 10 story building) maximum height loss from initial height after exiting the tailslide in the worst manner and so in this given example the final height would be about 970 meters after going horizontal again. The aircraft here as true example, started to pull from around 100-150 meters height (let's just say 100 only, but I doubt the regulations let him start so low), so according to the above remarks, this aircraft would've exited at about 60-70 meters AGL (above ground level) which was enough to let him land on a nearby grass field if unable to complete a normal landing pattern while gliding. I might do a long talk, but I do it if I find it necessary! If you don't know something, then ask..., but don't tell things which are out of logic and you don't even want to listen! Waiting for your reply..., or just don't don't reply anymore if you don't know things well enough!
Any minute now...after this...any minute now... this is it!...any minute now...here we go this is it!...any second now...this is surely it...nope... THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME! Nailed it!
